Just bought a quad and I'm looking for a small trailer for it. Should I get a normal frame hitch or will a pintle mount with a ball be strong enough?
Thanks guys
Thanks guys
Pintle versus hitch
- Thread starter thelast13
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Pintle with a ball is plenty for that.
How about for a tent trailer?? I am looking for an older tent trailer that I can modify for more all-terrain use, but want to remove my class III reciever and use just the pintle hitch on my stock bumper?
Pintle hitch is generally considered stronger, with a wider range of movement (military uses them) than class III, but rarely used in civilian applications, so everything you tow needs a ring welded on...no big deal.
Very few others will be able to tow your trailers. Good for security, bad for re-sale.
Edit: whoops, sorry..."pintle with ball"...even better.
Here's a good deal...even has interchangeable balls http://www.buyautotruckaccessories....&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPT69M6N7LACFcyb7QodNzdMvA
Very few others will be able to tow your trailers. Good for security, bad for re-sale.
Edit: whoops, sorry..."pintle with ball"...even better.
Here's a good deal...even has interchangeable balls http://www.buyautotruckaccessories....&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPT69M6N7LACFcyb7QodNzdMvA
Last edited:
You can also get pintle hitches with a ball cast into them for ball hitch trailers (limited to one size though), or a convert-a-ball pintle hitch where you can interchange different sized balls or the pintle depending on your needs.
I tow a US M101A3 trailer with a Lock-N-Roll hitch - works great, quieter than a pintle, and inherently theft resistant. They don't offer as many models as they did a few years ago, but might be worth a look: Lock N' Roll Trailer Hitches
Pintle is plenty strong, but do you want the constant clunking when taking off, braking...very noisey...just FYI
I had planned on using the pintle style hitch with a 2" ball incorporated, so there will be minimal noise. I am just not sure what the bumper is rated at, and if i pile a weekends full of gear on top of my camper trailer, if i will have to worry.
But i assume since Pintles are rated from 16k+, toyota wouldn't put it there if the bumper couldnt handle it? Right?
Also, one of these could be used to convert the ring to a ball coupler for road use... then just remove it and use the ring on the trail:
The pintle hitches have a high load rating BUT the rear cross member of the frame that they are bolted to are not as strong.
A Class 3 frame mounted hitch will be stronger.
That being said I removed my hitch and would prefer the Pintle/2"ball hitch.
A Class 3 frame mounted hitch will be stronger.
That being said I removed my hitch and would prefer the Pintle/2"ball hitch.
Yes, good point. The pintle will handle loads that far exceed the capacity of the bumper mount.
Some discussion of this in Trailer Tech recently. Depending on market, the 80 is rated to tow anywhere from 5000 lb (US spec) to ~7700 lb (Australia and perhaps other markets). However, this is noted as being with "towing package." I strongly suspect that means with the frame mount hitch and NOT using the bumper mount.
So the bumper mount is strong, just don't assume that it can tow the rated load. Since AFAIK, Toyota doesn't rate the capacity of the bumper mount, good sense and caution is in order. I'm comfortable with using it in towing whatever my 1/4 ton trailer can handle. If I handled a 24' trailer, I'd use the frame mount hitch.
Some discussion of this in Trailer Tech recently. Depending on market, the 80 is rated to tow anywhere from 5000 lb (US spec) to ~7700 lb (Australia and perhaps other markets). However, this is noted as being with "towing package." I strongly suspect that means with the frame mount hitch and NOT using the bumper mount.
So the bumper mount is strong, just don't assume that it can tow the rated load. Since AFAIK, Toyota doesn't rate the capacity of the bumper mount, good sense and caution is in order. I'm comfortable with using it in towing whatever my 1/4 ton trailer can handle. If I handled a 24' trailer, I'd use the frame mount hitch.
I had planned on using the pintle style hitch with a 2" ball incorporated, so there will be minimal noise. I am just not sure what the bumper is rated at, and if i pile a weekends full of gear on top of my camper trailer, if i will have to worry.
But i assume since Pintles are rated from 16k+, toyota wouldn't put it there if the bumper couldnt handle it? Right?
Also, one of these could be used to convert the ring to a ball coupler for road use... then just remove it and use the ring on the trail:
I prefer the looks of the pintles with the built in ball FWIW. This one is offered by Holland:
I like those too, but it lacks the ability to swap the ball out for different size requirements. I wonder if the other would look better if the ball was painted black
I dont, it looks like you have a penis hanging off the back of your truck.
Enjoy that now, while it's still legal in Florida (which has already banned "trucknuts").
Correct me if I'm wrong...thought I remembered reading that, while the bumper is rated for towing overseas, it is not rated for towing here in the good old USA. Is this according to the DOT, the highway patrol, or merely the auto insurance companies? Did I hear the bumper mounted hitch is ok for off road towing only??
M12 x 1.25mm
What you really need to go with the Pintle hitch is a fancy new chain plate... way better than a US Army Used one
https://forum.ih8mud.com/merchandis...dian-made-pintle-chain-plate.html#post7644739
What you really need to go with the Pintle hitch is a fancy new chain plate... way better than a US Army Used one
https://forum.ih8mud.com/merchandis...dian-made-pintle-chain-plate.html#post7644739
Thanks ! I'm not planning on a hitch at this point - but I want to preserve the the thread connections in my rear cross member. If I go for a hitch down the road, this will be a must have. Great product - as usual, where there's a need there's a mud guy !
Pintle hitches mounted on the 4 factory holes of an 80s rear bumper are NOT a good place to tow from. The comment above about "why would Toyota Put a 16k rated pintle on one if the bumper couldn't take it" are simply wrong. Toyota does NOT put ANY pintle hook on. Zero. Zippo.
For serious towing and serious mounting of a recovery tow point use a frame mounted class III or better hitch. To move a 1000lb or less garden trailer around - use a pintle of it suits you.
For serious towing and serious mounting of a recovery tow point use a frame mounted class III or better hitch. To move a 1000lb or less garden trailer around - use a pintle of it suits you.